STUDENT CMJ Tobacco Use among High School Students in Kampala, Uganda: Questionnaire Study

Aim. To determine the prevalence of tobacco-use and describe tobacco-related knowledge, perceptions, and behavior of high school students aged 13-15 years in Kampala, Uganda. Methods. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out among 2,789 students in 19 high schools in Kampala District, Uganda, in 2002. In each school, three classes from Senior One to Senior Three (average student age, 13 to 15 years, respectively) were randomly selected. All students who consented to participate in the study filled out a questionnaire consisting of 58 questions, with core items selected from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey. The questions were grouped into categories relating to tobacco use, knowledge and attitudes toward smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, attitude toward cessation of smoking, exposure to tobacco-related advertisements in the media, and education on tobacco and smoking in school. Results. Out of 2,789 students, 488 (17.5%) reported to have smoked tobacco, with 185 (37.9%) of them trying or starting smoking before the age of 10. There were 148 (5.3%) current smokers. More than two-thirds (77.9%) of current smokers expressed a desire to stop smoking, 76.9% had tried to stop, and 84.1% had received help or advice to stop smoking. At least two-thirds of the students reported seeing both anti-tobacco and pro-tobacco advertisements in the preceding month. About 15.7 % of the students had an item with a cigarette brand logo, whereas 11.1% had been offered free cigarettes by a tobacco company representative. Current smokers usually smoked at home (30.2%), at a friend's place (29.3%), in public places (12.1%), at social events (10.4%), and at workplace (1.5%). Current smokers were also more likely than non-smokers to be exposed to passive smoking at home (56.4% vs at 15.9%, respectively; p<0.001). Conclusion. Many high school students in Kampala are exposed to tobacco advertising, especially through the media. Efforts to control smoking in this age-group should also target their parents and other family members, by means of the media

Cigarette smoking prevalence among school-going adolescents in two African capital cities: Kampala Uganda and Lilongwe Malawi

Background: Non communicable diseases are a growing public health concern. Globally tobacco-related deaths surpass malaria deaths and yet developing countries\' data are lacking. Objectives:To compare prevalence of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco and tobacco-related issues among adolescents in Kampala, Uganda and Lilongwe, Malawi. Methods: Cross sectional data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) w used. Data were collected in 2001 in Lilongwe and in 2002 in Uganda using a standardized questionnaire tool.The study was aimed to enrolled schoolchildren aged 13-17 years. Results:The prevalence of tobacco smoking in Kampala and Lilongwe among adolescents was 5.6% and 6.2% (p >0.05) respectively. However, adolescents in Lilongwe were statistically significantly more likely to have ever smoked, use other tobacco products and perceived themselves as likely to initiate smoking in the coming year. Exposure to tobacco-related advertisements through billboards, newspapers and magazines was high in both settings. Conclusions:Adolescents are increasingly being exposed to tobacco and tobacco-related advertisements in Lilongwe, Malawi and Kampala, Uganda.There is need to enhance tobacco prevention efforts in developing nations. African Health Sciences Vol. 7(1) 2007: pp. 45-4

HDR Map Reconstruction From a Single LDR Sky Panoramic Image for Outdoor Illumination Estimation

Outdoor low dynamic range (LDR) panoramic images that contain the sun and sky are generally over-saturated because the sun is 10,000 times brighter than the regions that surround it. Because the luminance information in the region that contains the sun in these images is lost, it is difficult to identify the sun’s position and generate high dynamic range (HDR) environment maps that can be used to realistically relight virtual objects. Previous methods to reconstruct HDR maps did not consider that the sun covers a small area in an image but contains extremely high luminance values. These methods are therefore insufficient for estimating scene illumination. We propose a multi-faceted approach to reconstructing HDR maps from a single LDR sky panoramic image that considers the sun and sky regions separately. We encode an input image and transfer a multi-dimensional latent representation to two decoders, which reconstruct the luminance information in the sky and sun regions separately. To plausibly model sun illumination, we introduce two networks (Sunpose-net and Sunrad-net) that estimate the position and radiance of the sun. The generated sun radiance map is then merged with the output of the decoder that is responsible for sun regions. We demonstrated that the proposed method more plausibly reconstructs HDR maps than previous methods using the HDR-VDP-2.2 which measures the visual quality of reconstructed HDR maps against ground truth. The accuracy of the overall sun and sky illumination distribution in HDR maps reconstructed using the proposed method was evaluated using histogram distance measures

Meeting adolescents where they are in provision of friendly health services: Lessons from a needs assessment in Uganda

1 Summary This study investigated the context and the constraints in delivery of services to adolescents in Mbale district of Uganda. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with adolescents, teachers, various service providers, community members and leaders were combined with documents review. In schools the senior women and science teachers assisted adolescent, but were not equipped with the skills and knowledge to offer friendly services. At health units there was a gap between the age and sex of the adolescents and providers. Confidentiality was not adhered to in provision of services due to lack of resources, personnel and time. Circumcision rituals and festivities were a risk to adolescents' health. Radio, adolescent-specific newsletters, and peers are the preferred channels of communication. Coordination of adolescent services was poor sometimes leading to duplication of efforts and resources, and competition among various providers. Reforms in the district health system appear to negatively affect service delivery as district do not have funds to pay health workers and other operational costs. Implications of our findings for remedying provision of adolescent friendly health services are discussed